Police: Man shot by officers was homicide suspect

TEMPE, Ariz. — A man killed in a shootout with Arizona Department of Public
Safety officers and a security guard on a Tempe freeway Monday has been
identified as an ex-convict out of Colorado, authorities said.

Buckeye Police said Andrew Rael, 25, was the same man being investigated for a weekend shooting in the West Valley city that left a tow-truck driver dead.

But police said it won’t be known if Rael is connected to the shooting until evidence is analyzed and forensic tests can be completed.

Glendale Police joined the investigation to determine whether the dead man was connected to the murder of Daniel Scott White, 26, a convenience store clerk earlier Monday morning.

Tempe police said Rael has an extensive criminal history and was recently
released from a Colorado prison, although details of his sentence weren’t
immediately released.

The Monday morning incident began on I-10 near 35th Avenue, when the Arizona Department of Public Safety began pursuit, following him to the East Valley, where officers had used tire-puncturing
spike strips to stop the vehicle.

DPS spokesman Bart Graves said Rael, who had recently been in prison in Colorado,
began shooting at officers from the disabled luxury sports car.

Graves said a police dog pulled Rael’s body out of the vehicle after
the shooting. An officer suffered a minor injury, possibly from broken
glass.

The freeway was closed at Interstate 10 and Mill Avenue. It was reopened about 5:15 p.m. The Baseline Road exit on I-10 was reopened around 10 a.m.